Salters tries out for baseball
by ALEX ABRAMS, Special to the Press Argus-Courier Wednesday, June 23, 2010 10:05 AM CDT
SPRINGDALE – As the tryout came to an end, a few players who hadn’t made the final cut hung around Arvest Ballpark to watch Carlton Salters take batting practice.From their seats in the Naturals dugout, the players reacted in amazement each time Salters smacked a pitch to deep center field on Friday morning.Even the Kansas City Royals scouts – who had spent the previous two hours holding an open tryout with around 51 area high school and college players – were pleasantly surprised.
“The guy hadn’t swung a bat since three years ago, but he showed he has still got some hand-eye coordination,” said Lloyd Simmons, a senior amateur scout for the Royals.Salters’ last stint as a baseball player came in 2006, when he redshirted for the Arkansas baseball team. He’s known more for making catches as a backup wide receiver for the Razorbacks football team.However, thanks to his impressive showing at Friday’s tryout with the Royals, the senior perhaps has a better chance at having a professional baseball career than playing in the NFL.
“I’m 5-11, not real tall, not real fast. I have (13) career catches. The NFL is not really looking great (for me),” Salters said. “I’ve always had baseball talent.”Before the age thing catches up to me, you know, I’m just trying to see what’s the best route for me.”Salters could soon be faced with a decision as to whether to use his final year of football eligibility and play for the Razorbacks in the fall or pursue a pro baseball career.Simmons had hoped to find at least one player from the tryout who was worth signing. And not long after the tryout wrapped up, the Royals called Salters and scheduled him to work out for J.J. Picollo, the Royals’ Assistant General Manager for Scouting and Player Development.
Simmons said Salters – who has added 26 pounds since January and is now 220 pounds – could be a potential “sleeper” as a baseball player. The scout was particularly impressed with the wide receiver’s obvious athleticism and surprising power at the plate.”We’re going to hopefully work him out again, have a one-on-one type deal and see what he can do,” Simmons said.Salters has caught 13 passes for 185 yards in four years at Arkansas, and his only touchdown came on a 58-yard reception in a 30-17 loss at Ole Miss last season.The receiver is best known for catching a 21-yard pass on a fourth-and-6 with 1 minute, 18 seconds remaining to help set up Casey Dick’s game-winning touchdown strike to London Crawford in a 31-30 win over LSU on Nov. 28, 2008.Meanwhile, Salters’ baseball experience is limited to working as an outfielder during his redshirt season in 2006.”I’ve always had the ability to play baseball,” said Salters, who was a three-sport athlete at Tallahassee’s North Florida Christian High. “I just never came out and said, ‘I’m going to play baseball.’”Salters said he was intrigued after reading about the Royals tryout in the newspaper.And even though he has admittedly done “nothing” baseball-related over the past few months, he was among the dozens of players who arrived at Arvest Ballpark on Friday with the hopes of showing off for the scouts.It didn’t take long for Salters to separate himself from the rest of the hopefuls. He ran a fast 60-yard dash time, showed he could field balls in the outfield and answered questions about his power at the plate.His biggest critique of himself: His arm isn’t where it needs to be to throw out runners from the outfield.”(My) arm is not in shape, but I knew that coming out. I just wanted to be accurate,” Salters said. “There’s a difference between being in football conditioning shape and taking swings. I knew that, too.”But the swings I got, I just wanted to put a swing on it.”Salters said he has two more classes to pass before he earns a history degree, and he’s considered going to graduate school. He also went through spring practice with the anticipation of playing football for the Razorbacks in the fall.But a pro baseball career, as unexpected as it might seem, could change all that.
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